Music

Russian Culture to Aid British Charity. The Passage Celebrates Russian Soul at the Royal Festival Hall, 7 November

Night Under The Starspresents an evening of music celebrating the many-layered ‘Russian Soul’, described by writers such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky as a spirit of depth, strength, warmth and passion – qualities that permeate the music of the great Russian composers.

Rachmaninov’s beguiling Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is performed by pianist Boris Giltburg, and leading baritone Duncan Rock sings passionate music by Tchaikovsky. The concert opens with the rousing Coronation Scene from Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov, and closes with Borodin’s thrilling Polovtsian Dances – both grand choral spectaculars.
Our pre-concert reception offers the warm hospitality of Russian-style afternoon tea, complete with decorative samovars, while the post-concert reception is inspired by Mussorgsky’s fantastical Pictures at an Exhibition (excerpts) – and the St Petersburg Hermitage, one of the world’s great museums of art and culture, housed in the former Winter Palace.
All proceeds go direct to The Passage, helping homeless people transform their lives.

On the night a very special auction of new artworks inspired by Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition will be held. Musicians, architects, painters and photographers have created new art especially for this project, and they have donated their work for the auction. Every penny raised from the auction goes direct to The Passage. Pre-bids can be made before the silent auction which is taking place at the post-concert reception.The link to the auction site is here